Calm Before the Storm
by storyspinners
Summary: Just one of the many in-between days at Duel Academia. But it's the little things that become the most important. Juudai/Johan.


Authors Note: Inspired by the song "Must Have Done Something Right", by Relient K. If you ever get a chance, check it out; its a great spiritshipping song :)

Anyway... don't own Yu Gi Oh GX.

**

**

They had spent the remainder of a long evening together, just the four of them. They laughed and discussed anything related to dueling, whether it be strategies, other opponents, or new cards. The topic didn't make much of a difference because they could talk about nothing and still have a great time, their conversations stretching on.

Nevertheless, Shou and Kenzan had long since gone off to bed, tired from the day's hectic trials. Juudai remained behind, sitting on the floor in one of the Osiris dorm rooms, his back resting against the bed. He didn't mind though, he always seemed to enjoy this calm, gentle time of night, preferring to sleep in and avoid the relentless, early morning light. But Juudai had another reason for staying up past the late hours.

And that reason was currently leaning on his shoulder, fast asleep.

Juudai listened as Johan's steady breathing filled the room, mingled with the quiet wind and rustling of leaves from outside. He couldn't help but smile as Johan mumbled incoherent words and shifted his head slightly. He probably would have laughed too, but he didn't want to risk shaking Johan out of his much-needed sleep. They had all had a long, full day and he could tell Johan was beat. Recalling how quickly the Gem Beast duelist dozed off in the first place, it was understandable.

Nothing serious had happened that day, merely the typical events a person could expect from attending Duel Academia. Juudai had missed breakfast and so had to rush when getting dressed and find the others. Upon leaving his room, however, he was bombarded by a Ra Yellow student he couldn't remember the name of, and challenged to a duel.

Still groggy after just waking up, Juudai hadn't put much thought into the fact that he might have been at a minor disadvantage and accepted instantly. They were supposed to duel everyday after all and, in his mind, it was a great way to start the morning. Or afternoon.

It had been a simple back and forth duel, his opponent not really one for chatting. Juudai pulled out a win in the end, finishing off the other boy's remaining life points in one fell swoop. He had smiled good-naturedly, but the Ra Yellow student merely grumbled a few angry remarks and strode off. Juudai watched, bewildered, ignoring the eerie glow emitting from the dis-belt around his wrist.

Juudai had been saved the trouble of trying to say something, however, with the timely arrival of one of his best friends…

_**_

"_Juudai!" a small, panting voice called._

_Juudai turned and beamed at the shorter duelist, "What is it, Shou?"_

_Shou stopped his running, standing in front of Juudai and gesturing backward in the direction he had just come from, "Come quick…" Shou said, breathlessly, "Obelisk…lunch…food competition…lots of shrimp…"_

_He hardly said another word before Juudai yelled, "Awesome!" and started running toward the Obelisk dorms; a weary, but smiling Shou following after him…_

_**_

As Juudai thought back to it, the Obelisk cafeteria had been swarming with students, so much so, that no one seemed to mind if a couple Ra Yellow students and a certain Osiris Red student joined in. The staff, for one reason or another, had baked and made a considerable amount of food that day, much more than was customary for the blue dorms and the students had quickly taken advantage of it…

**

_Laughing, joking, with bits of food flying in every direction, Juudai sat and watched as Jim flung another bit-sized shrimp toward Johan from across the room. Successfully catching the piece in his mouth, Johan grinned cheerfully and threw his arms up in mock triumph. That made sixteen in a row, not that Juudai was really counting. He smiled at his friend happily; failing to notice as Asuka sat down beside him at the table._

"_So why aren't you playing?" she asked smoothly._

"_Hmm?" he said, distractedly, causing Juudai to turn his head so he could look at her, "What?"_

"_The game," Asuka's quiet laugh was friendly. She gestured to where the two exchange students, along with several others from their mitch-matched group of friends, disappeared behind a crowd of on-lookers._

"_Oh, yeah," Juudai said, scratching lightly at the back of his head, "I lost."_

_Asuka looked genuinely surprised. Those were the last two words she had expected to hear, especially from someone like Juudai._

"_What?" Asuka asked, this time it was her turn to sound confused, "But… you hardly ever lose." She raised a questioning eyebrow at him._

_Juudai shrugged modestly, "At dueling maybe," he said, "But nobody's perfect at everything, right?"_

_Asuka nodded faintly. Though it's happened before, it was still strange for her to picture Juudai loosing. At anything._

"_Besides," Juudai continued, his voice light and conversational, "This is different. It's not like you duel with shrimp," he laughed, but stopped abruptly as if the most brilliant idea had just occurred to him. "Although…"_

_Juudai's eyes glazed over; a far away look plastered on his face. Asuka shook her head, "I'm sure if it was an eating contest, you'd have wiped the floor with them by now." This earned another laugh from Juudai._

_As they caught a glimpse of their friends among the countless bobbing heads, Asuka sighed, her voice suddenly becoming more serious._

"_It's just strange," she commented. Juudai starred at her blankly, obviously not understanding. "To think that they won't be here next year," she continued._

_Juudai didn't know how to reply to that. He felt a rather unpleasant and unwelcome dip in his stomach as her words took root…_

_**_

That thought had honestly not occurred to him before than. What would happen when Johan, Jim, O'Brien, and Amon had to head back home? Had to leave Duel Academia? It was a sobering realization; one Juudai felt much more comfortable ignoring.

Johan shifted again on his shoulder and Juudai decided he _wasn't_ going to worry about it. They were planning on having a great year, regardless of what was to come at the end. Until then, Juudai hoped to make the most of what time they had together. And Juudai had to admit, a day with Johan was far from boring…

**

_Juudai couldn't keep the smile off his face as they exited the large, and equally messy, Obelisk cafeteria. He brushed crumbs and pieces of leftover food off his jacket as he glanced sideways at Johan, who was trying hard not to laugh. They _had_ gotten detention after all, but it was definitely worth the punishment._

_It turned out to be an extremely beautiful day; warm, but not unbearably so. Just the perfect mixture of sun and a gentle breeze that could make a person wish for the weather to stay this way all year round. He turned his head to the sky, a strong, clear blue that was slowly becoming one of Juudai's favorite colors._

"_Hey!" an angry voice growled. Juudai had bumped hard into someone, not paying attention to where he was going, "Watch it."_

_A quick look over his shoulder confirmed the retreating back of one, Amon Garam. Juudai rubbed his arm absentmindedly where Amon had hit him._

"_Not really a pleasant person, is he?" Johan said, as the two of them began walking again. Juudai briefly wondered where Shou and Kenzan had disappeared to._

"_You can say that again," Juudai replied. Maybe Amon just needed time to get used to a new school and new acquaintances._

"_It's weird though," Johan said lightly, "He seems to have a lot in common with Manjourme and his family." Juudai knew Johan hadn't said it to be cruel; that he was simply questioning._

"_No way," Juudai replied easily, with a wave of his hand, "Manjourme's a much better guy. Once you get to know him, that is."_

_Johan nodded kindly at his remark and curiosity tweaked Juudai's interest. "Didn't you two meet? At North School, I mean?"_

_Johan shook his head, "Not really," he supposed, "We knew _of_ each other, but we weren't friends or anything." Johan smiled though, his tendency to see the good in people shining through, "But I know he's a great duelist."_

_Juudai placed a hand on Johan's shoulder, "Yeah, he is," he stated, happy at how easily and quickly Johan had gotten along with all his friends. He laughed, "This one time—" _

_Juudai was cut off, however, by a loud voice from behind, "What are you two going on about?"_

_Speak of the devil._

_Both boys spun around to face the black-clad, black-haired duelist, guilty looks shared between the two of them. Manjourme didn't notice, or chose not to, as he continued, "How's a guy supposed to get some peace around here with you two talking? All the time! And I know you were talking about me."_

_Oops._

_Anyone who knew Manjourme could tell he wasn't mad at the moment. Annoyed? Definitely. Juudai was at lost on how to explain. Though it hadn't been anything bad, he was pretty sure Manjourme would not be happy with the topic of their conversation._

"_Yes, we were talking about you, that's true," Johan said instantly._

_Johan!_

"_Why?" Manjourme looked vaguely angry and suspicious now. Juudai wanted to smack his friend._

"_Yeah…um…," Johan said, his voice disguising a laugh, "We were thinking of getting you a t-shirt."_

_Juudai's eyes flickered to Johan in surprise, but he caught on anyhow. "Exactly!" he chimed, looking back at Manjourme who was glaring, "Something to switch up your outfit a little."_

"_Maybe with the Ojamas on it."_

"_But, no worries, it'll be black."_

_Manjourme was shaking his head, tossing his arms up in defeat. "Fine! Forget I even asked!" he cried as he started walking away. Juudai could have sworn he heard the small voice of Ojama Yellow squeak, "__**It sounds like a good idea to us, aniki**__!"_

"_Did I ask for you're opinion!" Manjourme yelled._

_**_

Juudai and Johan had laughed all the way back to the Osiris dorms and proceeded to tell Shou and Kenzan about what happened. The four of them were having so much fun, they didn't want it to end, and decided on a something like a mix between a party and a sleepover that night.

Thus, leading to Johan falling asleep, unknowingly, against Juudai's shoulder. He was comfortable, and couldn't bring himself to wake the blue-haired duelist up yet. So instead, he rested quietly, thinking to himself. He heard Hane Kuriboh before he saw him and tickled the small duel monster lightly.

A sudden idea struck Juudai as he looked down at Johan. He couldn't remember where or when, but someone once mentioned that people will often answer questions in their sleep. They didn't always give logical answers, many times just uttering nonsense while others didn't answer at all, but Juudai thought he'd give it a try.

"Johan?" Juudai whispered, not wanting to wake him in the process.

"Mmm," was the only response Johan gave him.

Juudai figured he'd start out with something basic; a question with a simple answer. "Johan, what kind of cards do you have?"

Johan's answer was garbled, but Juudai caught his words anyway, "…gems…amily"

Juudai was sure that last one was 'family', which wasn't surprising. He was glad to see, at least, that some of his friend's answers would make sense.

"Do you like being here at Duel Academia?" Juudai said, maintaining his whisper, but finding that his voice filled the rather silent dorm room regardless.

"… s'cool…" Johan managed, but Juudai didn't know if he meant 'school' or 'it's cool'. He assumed it was the latter. Johan had been smiling and laughing ever since he arrived at the Academia, and Juudai hoped he was enjoying himself.

"That's good," Juudai said, contemplating about what to ask next. It was difficult coming up with something, understanding so much about Johan already. He had only been here for a short amount of time, but Juudai felt as if he had known Johan for a lifetime.

His heart started to beat slightly faster when an important question came to mind. Not life or death important, not even dueling-related important. And though it might have sounded stupid, it was significant to Juudai and Johan's answer meant a lot.

Juudai swallowed before murmuring, "Johan, are we friends?"

There was small pause, as the corners of Johan's lips twitched gently.

"…best…friends…" Johan sighed, still fast asleep.

Juudai smiled even wider now, staring at the desk legs ahead of him. "You're my best friend, too," Juudai confirmed, not really knowing if Johan could hear, let alone grasp what Juudai was saying. But he wanted to say it anyway. "I just want you to know…that I'm here for you, Johan." Juudai continued, open sincerity displayed in his soft brown eyes, "If you ever need me, ok?"

Johan moved his head a fraction of an inch, mumbling again. "…m'kay…" he whispered, his voice so quiet and calm, practically fading off past his lips, "…love…youtoo…"

Juudai blinked.

He turned his head to look at Johan again, his mouth hanging slightly open. Johan may be out of it and probably wouldn't remember even having this conversation in the morning, but it didn't change the fact that Johan was subconsciously speaking the truth.

Uncomprehending truth, but truth nonetheless.

He knew that Johan loved the Gem Beasts, more than words could describe, and that he loved all of his friends, just as much as Juudai did. But there was something about hearing it voiced aloud.

A strange sensation hit him when Johan had spoken, filling every inch of his chest. It weaved its way throughout his limbs, encasing his entire body from head to toe and overtaking his rapidly beating heart. There was only one word Juudai could think of to describe this new feeling…

Warm.

Another sound reached Juudai's ears and he realized Johan had started to snore softly. He felt thrilled, that Johan might hold a special place in his heart just for him and it was hard to imagine not feeling the same The desire to ask anything else vanished and he merely sat there, back still against the bed and legs stretched out before him.

He watched the shadows dance along the floor, creeping closer, caressing the end of one of his sneakers. Juudai knew he should go to bed; Kenzan and Shou would be waking him up for class tomorrow all too soon. But he wasn't ready to get up yet. There was a longing inside him; he wanted to remain this way, feeling the comforting weight of Johan's head on his shoulder, his best friend kept close to him…

Just a little bit longer.

**

THE END

**


End file.
